The Carlyle Group and Advent International to Acquire HT Troplast AG from RUETGERS AG

Munich, Germany – Global private equity groups The Carlyle Group and Advent International today announced an agreement to acquire HT Troplast AG, a worldwide leading diversified plastics manufacturer, from RUETGERS AG. Financial details were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Troisdorf, Germany, HT Troplast is comprised of four distinct business units, three of which (profine GmbH, Trocellen GmbH, DYNOS) will be acquired by The Carlyle Group and Advent International. The businesses are each leaders in their fields, operating from manufacturing and sales sites in Europe (Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Russia), North and South America and Asia.

The largest division of HT Troplast is profine GmbH, a European market-leading producer of vinyl profiles for windows, doors, shutter systems and sheets used in the residential and commercial construction industries.

The second division in HT Troplast to be acquired by The Carlyle Group and Advent is Trocellen GmbH, one of Europe’s leading suppliers of innovative crosslinked polyolefin (“XLPO”) foam products, used for a variety of applications including insulation and construction, automotive, footwear and sport and leisure.

Dynos, also to be acquired, is the global leader in the manufacture of vulcanised fibre for abrasive discs, used in a variety of sectors of which automotive and DIY applications are the largest.

In total, the three divisions have 4,300 employees and net sales for 2004 will be approximately €770 million.

Trosifol, a producer of “PVB” films for laminated safety glass will not be acquired.

Gregor Boehm, Managing Director, The Carlyle Group said, "HT Troplast has excellent market positions, in a growing industry. We are delighted to be investing in the company with Advent International and to have the chance to add a further market leader to our portfolio."

Ron Sheldon, Director at Advent International, commented, "HT Troplast is a world-class plastics manufacturer, with powerful capabilities and excellent technologies. Together with Carlyle, we are confident that we can maximise future growth potential."

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